ABSTRACT
The South African War has been labeled by some historians as one of Great Britain's 'small wars', but in terms of cost, duration, strategy and tactics it was hardly a campaign reminiscent of the many imperial conflicts it waged in Africa and Asia in the second half of the nineteenth century. Nearly every Volunteer battalion raised a service company by the New Year, and in addition, what would become Great Britain's most famous volunteer force in the war, the City of London Imperial Volunteers (CIV) also began to assemble. The Militia Act could not impel the men to leave the United Kingdom, no matter how urgently they were needed. Canadians and Australians had some of the worst reputations but there were Imperial Yeomanry companies which were just as hard to keep order over. The South African War was not won by the regular forces alone; the volunteer forces played a vital role in bringing about the British victory.
